Overdue Library Book Returned 82 Years Late, and It's a Good Thing They Waited So Long
- by Michael Stillman
The library card.
A library book has been returned 82 years overdue and that's a good thing. It probably wouldn't have survived if returned on time.
Jordan Muscyscyn (pronunciation unknown) was working in his attic, cutting a hole through the roof for a vent, when he discovered some old books. They were hidden under some blown-in insulation. One of them differed from the others as it contained a library card from the Sydney Public Library in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. The card was dated 1939. The book is The Adventures of Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting.
Mr. Muscyscyn is an innocent bystander. He only bought the house five years ago. The borrower was a young girl in 1939. The library prefers not to identify her without permission from her family whom they are seeking to contact. No, it's not to make them pay the fine. As Muscyscyn told CTV News, he found it on what “was the same week that the library had abolished their fines. So I thought it was a good thing, because I wouldn't want to know what the fine on an 82-year-old overdue book would be.” Actually, Nicole MacGibbon of the Cape Breton Regional Library, calculated it for him. Based on 15 cents a day it came to over $3,000. However, he had a couple of other outs from paying the fine. One is that they didn't collect fines on children's books in 1939, and they never charged more than $3 for an overdue book.
However, the library really ought to pay Muscyscyn and the then young lady for taking care of their book. In 1959, there was a major fire at the library. Eighty thousand books were destroyed. It is unlikely Dr. Dolittle would have survived. Now, “he” is back home, cared for all of these years. Better late than never.
Now, here's another story about an overdue library book, but this time not quite so overdue. The book is Great Heart: The Life Story of Theodore Roosevelt by Daniel Henderson, published in 1919. It was only 72 years overdue. This book was borrowed from the Amagansett Library in Amagansett, New York, in 1949. The book was returned by John Moss, a retired police officer from East Hampton. He says he has a lot of books, but didn't know where this one came from. He thought most likely it was inherited from his parents or one he picked up at a yard sale. I wonder whether, in his police officer days, he would have accepted an excuse like that from someone caught with merchandise that did not belong to him.
Late fees were not so onerous in Amagansett. They charged only a penny a day. However, nothing was due here either as they too recently abolished overdue book fees.
The circulation policy was placed on the back cover. It said that books could be kept for two weeks and renewed after that except for new books. Presumably, this 1919 book wasn't new to the library in 1949. It also lists the one cent per day overdue charge. Then, it continues with a warning that is eerily appropriate for today: “Any books exposed to contagious diseases will not be received at the library.”
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Galileo Galilei. Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico, e copernicano. Firenze, 1632
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Saverio Manetti. Storia naturale degli uccelli. Firenze, 1771-76
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Fortunato Depero. Depero futurista. Rovereto, 1927
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Nicolas Visscher. Atlas minor sive totius orbis terrarum contracta delineat ex conatibus. Amsterdam, circa 1649-95
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Andreas Vesalius. Anatomia. Addita nunc. Antiquorum Anatome. Venezia, 1604
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Tristan Tzara and Salvador Dalì. Grains et Issues. Parigi, 1935
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 123. Celebrate 250 Years of Independence with Original Stars and Stripes (1790) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 20. Keulen's Spectacular Chart of the World Featuring California as an Island (1728) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 42. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 591. Matching Set of 3 Stunning Globe Gores of Eastern Asia from Coronelli's 3.5 Foot Globe (1688) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 9. Speed's Popular World Map with Allegorical Representations of the Elements (1651) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 168. First Separate Map of Kansas & Nebraska Territories (1854) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 43. Only Macrobius Map with Britain Attached to Europe (1515) Est. $800 - $950
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 250. Rare Map of Boston and One of the Earliest Maps of the Revolutionary War (1775) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 79. Schenk's Uncommon Map Featuring Two Figurative Title Cartouches (1696) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 681. Hand-Colored Image of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950
Sotheby's Book Week 2 June - 9 July
Sotheby’s, June 25: Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, on its 250th anniversary. $180,000 to $250,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Fontana, Lucio. Concetto Spaziale. 1967. Leporello en papier doré. Bel exemplaire signé. €4,000 to $€,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. $150,000 to $200,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Washington, George (as First President). Washington decries “an ostentatious imitation, or mimickry of Royalty” in his Presidency. $250,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Lope de Vega. Rare manuscrit autographe signé de la préface dédicatoire de "El Cardenal de Belen" (le cardinal de Bethléem), pièce composée en 1610. €40,000 to €60,000.
